24 )
.
The dread was detected. It was something that sent fear through the community. It came seldom but when it came, it killed hundreds of their greatest warriors.
The warriors practiced, and trained, they tested against each other, making sure they were the very best that could be.
A call went out, The dread was coming. The warriors gathered their favorite weapons, their best armor and headed up the tight passage way to the top of the rocks to fight off the dread.
At the mouth of the passage, the wind blew strong. The first warrior, not the best, marched out into the wind. He faced the dread for a short time, then they heard his fading scream. They knew he was dead.
One by one, the warriors went out into the wind, their descending screams told the next one it was their turn.
Quato was next. He stepped out and at a quick glance around, did not see anything. He grabbed the rock against the wind and slide along the surface until the wind blew him into a hole in the rock. The wind was too strong to let him get out. "Help, I am trapped." He called out.
The next warrior came out boldly and faced into the wind. A gust hit and he fell over the edge, his descending scream followed him. Another warrior came out. He to was blown by the wind.
half a dozen warriors went the same way before Quato was able to force himself out of his hole. He got back to the entrance, pushing the next warrior back in.
"they are being blown over the edge by a strong wind!" he shouted to them. "All that is out there is a very strong storm!" He then told them exactly what he did, what happened to him, and what he saw. Another warrior went out into the wind and came back. "It is just the wind!"
A couple guys went out into the wind for a while, then came back in. The wind had died down to where they could look over the edge of the cliff and see the dozens of bodies below. they would later gather their remains and use the armor for other warriors.
Back in their homes, the warriors investigated, picking the brains of the old people and those who kept records. It took some time to wheedle the information out of them.
It started out that the wind followed the passage and did a lot of damage in the habitations. They started out trying to plug the passage but that did not work. they soon started sending their warriors out to fill the passage. they eventually started testing their strength against the wind and that turned into fighting the dread. The original purpose was forgotten so the warriors went out into the wind to die, blown over the edge.

25 )
.
He had a bug problem, so he went around stomping on bugs all the time. The place received dust from a starch processing plant and the bugs loved the fine dust. They did not like the heavy starch powder in the plant itself.
The starch was from a grass that grew only on this planet. It had special properties that could not quite seem to be replicated in the lab. They also could not quite get the grass to grow any place else so they had to harvest it here.
The star that the planet revolved around, was very unstable, sending out energies periodically. The planet's atmosphere and the shielding on the freighters and star ships protected the people involved.
During the night, the star gave out some energies with some strong, laser like spikes. The energies were aimed almost directly at the planet.
He woke in the morning. He got dressed and stepped on a few bugs as he headed to the kitchen. A monster of a bug faced him in the kitchen, and then attacked him.
He fought the beast, knocking things over, knocking each other into walls. He finally drove his fingers between the body plates of the bug, grabbed something like a tube and pulled it out. Within moments, the bug collapsed and died. A short time later, it shrunk to normal bug size. he stepped on it.
He was a bit shook up. He cleaned up the debris and went about fixing breakfast, stomping on bugs as they crawled out into the open floor.
He walked into the living room and was met by another bug. Again he fought the bug. He beat the bug a bit sooner, mainly because he was not surprised. After crushing the bug after it had shrunk, he started walking around with a broom as a weapon. he would brush the dust into a pile and crush the bugs that came running for the concentrated bits.
The next big bug appeared when he walked into the bedroom. He stabbed the broom into the chest of the bug, then thwacked it across the head with the bristles. He quickly lost the broom but had a big advantage against the bug. After crushing it, he went out into the living room and met another bug.
As dark came, the bugs stopped appearing, but he stayed up very late just in case. He reported about what he experienced. he found that there was two other reports, one of the people died and another was badly hurt. There were other sightings of the big bugs elsewhere on the planet, but no contact with people with them.
Researchers figured out that the strange energy from the star was focused by the mass of the planet into some form of magical energies. they also figured out that those energies were the reason the grass had such a special starch.

26 )
.
Charles had not been feeling well. When his bosses asked about his health, he said he was under treatment. His work was not suffering to much.
After a time, he seemed to be improving in his health. The boss happened to see him take what looked like a pill box out. The boss was close enough to see that it held screwdriver tips. Charles picked through them and popped two of them into his mouth and swallowed them.
"What are you doing? Isn't that what is making you sick?" his boss asked.
"No sir, it is part of the treatment."
The screw driver bits slide down his throat and land in his stomach. A slit in the lining opens up and a pair of hands grabs each one, one at a time. The slit closes and seals.
The bits are passed through many hands of tiny people till it gets to a person holding a ratchet. He checks both bits and puts one into the ratchet and then into a fitting. He starts pushing up. four others join him on the handle and they finally get the fitting to turn.
They request another bit while passing one they don't need back up. Charles takes a screwdriver bit out of his mouth and selects a different one he swallows.
A few days later, he is looking really healthy, like he was never sick. The little men remain on him fine tuning the settings before they leave him. Super robots like Charles allows the little people to know what the giants are up to and to protect the activities of the little people.

27 )
.
This is the third idea from a song about heaven is so far away, longing to be able to visit those who passed.
The colony was on the verge of re-entering space for commerce when two deities showed up in a long running battle.
Each blast they sent at each other killed thousands of people. The city was being stripped of population.
Borgan fired his phrazer cannon at the Gods twitched with each hit. One by one, the cannons were blasted out of existence. Borgan realized that some energy in the phrazer effected the gods. He de-tuned the cannon completely to the lower energies and fired. His first shot had no effect. He jumped it to the highest levels and still no effect. he alternated, going half way between previous settings and the normal cannon setting, watching how the gods reacted.
Soon he was the last cannon operating. Twelve points above the normal setting, the Gods jumped as if stung. He opened fire as fast as the cannon could reset. The two gods turned and hit him with a blast of their full power. It hit as the cannon fired and he felt as if the energies were blocked by the beam.
When he came to, the gods were gone. So was most of the people. Something was not right about himself. Deep in thought about loved ones, he walked into a cloud. Millions of people surrounded him, congratulating him about surviving. There, he learned that the blast the gods hit him with, took them from death to this realm. It was like a heaven. They could see all that was going on anywhere on the planet but could not react. Borgan returned to the planet and headed to the only surviving population.
The colony was expanding into the city. there was so much the colonists did not know about what they were looking at. Three hunters came to the old man with strange boxes. "What are these? how can we use them?" one of them asked. They also described things they had seen that were beyond their understanding.
Borgan glanced at him. He knew a couple objects but decided to verify it as he did not know how they were used. He told them the objects would have to be left overnight. They were disappointed but left him with the objects.
Night time came and Borgan made sure no one was around. He then went for a walk into the forest. Within a minute he was in the clouds and then in heaven. He noted where everybody was. there was one person who could possibly come to his house before dawn. he showed the objects the people brought. A portly man appeared and explained exactly how each item was used, showing the interior work, including damage incurred. others showed him the place those people were at and explained how they worked and what they did. Borgan now understood it completely. he asked how to get power to the machinery and was shown what had to be done.
Borgan returned to his house and wrote instructions on how to get the machinery powered up. When the people arrived after sun-up, he told them what they needed to know. He never answered how he knew this stuff.
He was not bothered that day, so that night, he went back to heaven and caught with old friends.
The blast half killed Borgan so he could enter heaven any time. It also made him immortal and he did not need sleep. he was like the Oracle of the colony. Civilization was returning to the colony far faster than it normally would have, and with less damage to the old colony than would have been expected. People were taking over the old city, making it theirs.

28 )
.
It was a new fiber. It had strength, durability, flexibility. This ultra thin fiber can be twisted together to build any diameter thread and they stay together like any other thread.
The manufacturers knew the thread was a tube but thought nothing of it. No one else bothered to notice either.
It was tested as a fabric and was fairly fire proof, quite insulating, which was an exciting find. It became a product for children's clothing and in many work clothes.
Over time, people started complaining about how smells were not coming out of the product. No one could figure out why. Once it stunk, the smell never went away.
One day, someone took a big spool of the thread at a clothing manufacturer and caught the end of the thread on fire. They let it burn for a while, then cut it off. the burning thread smelled horrible. they then used the thread to make some clothing and that clothing stank to high heaven. they were recalled and the manufacturer found nothing would get rid of the burnt smell. they sent samples to laboratories and that was when it was found that the fiber was hollow.
It was determined that because the fiber is cut during manufacture, the smell got into the fiber and permeated the whole material from the end. the fiber seemed to amplify the scents.
It stopped being a popular fiber for most uses, but it did have applications. Being cheap, it was good for temporary clothing that will be tossed later. The strength and fineness made it perfect for parachutes instead of silk, and usually any smells were not a problem. The ability to amplify smells became useful in detection equipment.

29 )
.
He could never remember how he acquired it, but he developed control over a bubble in the fabric of the universe. the interior of the bubble could be anything he wanted it to be. He could only create one at a time, which was a bit of a disappointment.
He rented an unfurnished apartment. There was nothing in it at all. Once he had control over the apartment, he opened his bubble into it. His bubble had the same number of rooms and was of the same size and shape as the actual apartment, but he had tiled walls with tapestry, ornately carved furniture, the best food and fabrics. Once every few months he would change the place to a whole new design.
One day, some officials said they were taking him away for a special assignment. He was dragged into a limousine and they were driving. He begged the to let him stop by his place. They said they did not have time. He told them that if they drove at or slightly above the speed limit, they could get to his place which was sort of on their way and he would be back out in just a couple minutes and they could get to their destination, an airport, at about the same time they were going there now.
They finally agreed/ they pull up in front of his place and he was out the door in a moment. He ran up to his apartment. Inside, he grabbed a couple quick entertainment items, wrote a note to his landlord with a check for the next two months rent, then closed out the bubble. He stuck the bubble in his pocket as he walk out the door. no one outside was the wiser. He put the key, check and note in the mail box and got back into the car.
The driver drove as fast as was wise and they arrived at about the same time they would have normally have.
His bubble would never be found and would be with him until he placed it again. He had no complaints about losing his bank account and other personal belongings. He could have all the gold jewels or anything else he wanted once he opened his bubble.

30 )
.
A group immigrated to the great nation and found that they were not getting rich. They got very angry. they started terrorist acts, bombings, assassinations, property damage. the great nation ignored them and did not listen to their demands.
The group got so frustrated that they decided they were willing to die to reach their goals. strapping explosives to their bodies and detonating them in large groups, driving their loaded transports into buildings and setting them off. The great nation started paying attention. It was not doing anything, but it was paying attention.
The group decided they were going to go for broke. they had to train their people, build mock-ups, and gather data. It cost them money to get the specific training their people needed. They had to work hard to get around securities and still avoid questions.
It was time to commit their act. It required careful timing to make sure it would work. There was a lot of places it could fail. The authorities were after them.
They got onto public air transportation. Right after it was fully in the air, they got up and took over, breaking into the cab and forcing the air crew out and they took over.
They flew the air transports into very important, well known buildings. Several of the buildings were destroyed.
The group celebrated the damage they did. The great nation mourned. They waited what they felt was the proper amount of time, where they knew they were not going to be picked up immediately, and sent out their demands to the great nation. They threatened another set of disasters if their demands were not met.
The great nation surrendered. The leadership begged for mercy in their surrender. The group went to the seat of power and found themselves absolutely in control. they were now the government and the entire infrastructure was at their absolute beck and call.
After a couple months, they found that the government could not have met their demands based on the way it was set up. there was really nothing they could do about it either. Their leadership remained in power.
The great nation remained great in spite of their command. what changes they did were for the better, but not much better.

31 )
.
Gleebe was a minor god. He came to a planet in a universe created by a real god and decided to make an edifice worthy of that god.
This planet had some mistakes the god made early in the universe. The population would grow bigger when they needed much more strength. They only thought in terms of lifting and carrying. That they had a viable society was a miracle.
Gleebe started them working, trying to teach them how to build and use ramps and how to use wheels and sleds to move heavy objects. In every case, the people would grow big enough to lift the object onto the sled, and then left the sled and carry it. They simply did not understand.
One day, Gleebe got angry at a native that lifted a sled onto a platform against orders. He hit the native with a pain spell, then told the native to get the sled back down. the native found the pain became agonizing before it got big enough to lift it. Gleebe made the native build a ramp and place it and bring the sled down. He then made the native pull the sled till they got to the destination and then work, using ramps, ropes and such, to get the load where it was needed.
Gleebe removed the pain spell. The next day the native used the sleds, ramps and such all day long. Gleebe now had his solution. He cast the pain spell over the entire population within his working area and then put them through training. they now understood what had to be done. He showed them some tricks and techniques to lift loads using materials around them.
Working by his rules they built a nice temple with no lifting at all. He took the spell off them and then took them to where he wanted the real work to be done. He showed them exactly what he had planned and how he wanted to do it. He then let them explore ideas and prepare for their work. He told them he would be back in a generation and then help them with the serious part of the project.
He left the universe and entered another that had advanced technology. He became an engineer there, concentrating on techniques to lift the heaviest loads. He practiced what he learned.
He returned to the universe he was building the edifice and went to a planet with some advanced technology and learned how they did things and studied how the rules of the universe were different than what he had learned as an engineer.
A generation later, he returned. The entire population of the planet was now where the edifice was going to be built. Everybody was using techniques he taught them, even using animals to pull loads. They had done a lot of clearing work where the edifice was going to be.
They were sort of surprised he arrived as he promised. their own god always told them he would return soon and they would not see him for long periods, dozens of generations.
Gleebe joined them and taught what he learned, guiding them in techniques and helping them with the design. their idea of shifting the edifice over a few dozen miles placed a small mountain right in the center, making their project that much easier, was a great one. Gleebe had planned on mining the mountain for its rock.
It took generations. the natives built equipment that required dozens of them at maximum strength to just tow the parts along. the equipment was able to handle the masses of stones they had to move.
In a shorter amount of time than Gleebe expected, the edifice was built. the natives learned to be master stone masons and by mixing different kinds of stones, they added color and shades to the massive form.
When it was done, Gleebe located the god and brought him to see the work. The god was impressed and impressed at what his creations could do. Gleebe now had a powerful ally on his side when dealing with the gods. The god then had him and the natives go to other planets to build temples and edifices for the populations on those planets.
They began to show their true intelligence and ingenuity that the god put into them. They became the god's favorite and were used everywhere the god wanted to put his mark on a planet. Gleebe learned from them things that helped him when he was in other universes.

32 )
.
The evil king comes into the village and sees a very beautiful woman about to be married. He desires her so he grabs her and takes her with him. He lets the groom live.
The groom, once he gets his wits together, tries to follow the king and finds it is too difficult for him alone. He and a friend goes out to locate some champions to help him. In the process, he gains in skills, wisdom, courage, and a cool few weapons.
The team then heads to get his bride back. It is a real challenge as the king has a lot of barriers and defenders along the path. The entire system is to protect the palace from attacks from the village.
The groom finally gets into the palace and confronts the king, demanding his bride back.
The bride steps forward with weapons and tells him to either walk give up on her or die by her hand.
when asked, she tells him that she found the king more interesting, kinder, and more fun to be with. She is willing to kill to be with him.
The groom has a choice to make. He does not know if he will escape alive. The king could well go after him later. She shows off a little with her weapons and he now sees she is well his equal.